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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/28/2015 Special Council Meeting MintuesMARANA TOWN COUNCIL SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES 1 1555 W. Civic Center Drive, Marana, Arizona 85653 Executive Conference Room 1 Floor MMC April 28, 2015, at or after 6 :00 PM Ed Honea, Mayor Jon Post, Vice Mayor David Bowen, Council Member Patti Comerford, Council Member Herb Kai, Council Member Carol McGorray, Council Member Roxanne Ziegler, Council Member SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL. Mayor Honea called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Town Clerk Bronson called roll. All Council Members were present. 1 OF ALLEOIANCEIINVOCATIONIMOMENT OF SILENCE. Led by Mayor Honea. APPROVAL OF AGENDA. Motion to approve the agenda by moving Item A 3 after A .1 1vas made by Council Member McGorra second by Council Member ICai. Passed unanimously. CALL TO THE PUBLIC, No speaker cards presented. PROCLAMATIONS MAYOR AND COUNCIL REPORTS: SUMMARY OF CURRENT EVENTS. No reports. MANAGER'S REPORT: SUMMARY OF CURRENT EVENTS. No report. PRESENTATIONS CONSENT AGENDA LIQUOR LICENSES Marana Special Meeting 04/28/2015 BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES COUNCIL ACTION A 1 PUBLIC HEARING. ARING.- ordinance No. 2015.011 Relating to Transaction Privilege Tax; amending the Town Tax Code by increasing the tax rate on certain activities by one -half cent for the design and construction, and fixtures, furniture and equipment, for a new police department building; amending Sections 8 -460 (Retail sales; measure of tax.; burden of proof; exclusions) and 8 -610 (Use tax: imposition of tax; presumption) of the Town Tax Code by adopting local option V of the Model City Tax Code establishing a two - tiered tax structure for certain sales /purchases; setting a sunset date for the increased tax rate; and designating an effective date (Erik Montague). Mayor Honea opened the public hearing. Erik Montague presented an overview of the public outreach for this effort. The proposed ordinance would increase the privilege tax rate by one - half percent on all classifications except contracting, hotel /motel and mining taxes; adopt Local Option , 'V of the Model City Tax Code to impose a tiered structure on large single item purchases over $5K; require the Finance Director to notify the Arizona Department of Revenue to cease collection of the increase as soon as practical after $18M is collected pursuant to the increase; require that tax proceeds from the tax increase be placed in a separate fund for the design and construction, and fixtures, furniture and equipment for the new police building; provide that any monies collected in excess of what is required for the new police building be used for other costs related to the facility; set an effective date of July 1, 2015; and authorize staff to perform all actions necessary to effect the ordinance. Mayor Honea asked for public speakers. Ed Stolmaker, president and CEO of the Marana Chamber of Commerce, spoke in support of the ordinance. Mayor Honea closed the public hearing. Mr. Montague continued with the timeline to proceed which will be to work with the Municipal Tax Code Commission, the .Arizona Department of Revenue and the League of Arizona Cities and Towns on changes, with the sales tax to be effective July 1, 2015. Second will be to identify and select the Construction Project Manager from May -July, 2015; form the design and construction team including the architect and Construction Manager at Risk between October- - December, 2015; complete the final project scope and guaranteed maximum price negotiated, then bring that back to Council for approval between January — March 2016; begin design and construction in 2016 with the project to be completed by late 2017 or mid -2018. He noted that the sales tax period is estimated to expire by January 2019. Motion to approve by Council Member Comerford, second by Council Member Bowen. Roll call vote was unanimous, 7-0 rn favor. A 2 PUBLIC HEARING: Resolution No. 2015 -037 Relating to Development; adopting minor amendments to the transportation element of the Marana General Plan by revising the road network exhibit to delete the proposed Relocated Tangerine Road Interchange, establish Marana Special Meeting 04/28/2015 Tangerine Farms Road as the future primary connection to the Marana Road traffic interchange, reduce the planned right-of-way width of Tangerine Road from 350 to 250 feet, and reduce the planned right-of-way width of Marana Main Street from 90 feet to 80 feet; and by incorporating language into the General Plan text authorizing the Town Engineer to implement environmentally sensitive road design by reducing the standard right-of-way width for certain roadways in environmentally sensitive areas (Ryan Mahoney) Mayor Honea opened the public hearing. Mr. Mahoney presented, noting that staff is seeking an amendment to the transportation element contained in Section 6. There are two changes. The first is to the road network map, and the second is some language added to section 6.l .7 that gives the town engineer the authority to squeeze down the right-of-way in environmentally sensitive areas. with regard to the General Plan, there were several in -house studies that were used, many based on forecasts of transportation activity and development with a 20 -year horizon. The data is revisited from time relative to outside influences that the town may or may not have control over and the need to remain flexible. Those items are contemplated in the General Plan. He noted that Keith Brann would be discussing the details of how to modify the General Plan, and Mr. Mahoney will talk more about the mechanics of the General Plan amendment. The General Plan says that a minor amendment is anything that doesn't meet the criteria of a major amendment. going to the major amendment criteria, there are three, two of which don't have anything to do with transportation. The criteria discussing transportation says that you need to find a significant alteration or a diversion from an area of an adopted road network. And that can be a change in functional classification as well. Based on that, Mr. Mahoney interpreted our route to be a minor change. Basically, the significant alteration language refers to the land use mixture which is not changing, nor will there be a diversion from the road network. The project is reaping localized changes near the Marana interchange, and there are no changes to the roadway classification. when you talk about a diversion from an area, the General Plan does talk about areas being very broadly defined. what staff is attempting to do with these changes, in particular in the northwest area that moves the Tangerine interchange as well as modifying the alignment near the Marana Road interchange, is balancing the road network within the area. There have been a lot of new entitlements and new projects that have come to light, and by splitting that road and connecting the Tangerine Farms Road via the Marana Road to the I-- 10 is the safest and most effective way to move traffic in this area. There are several new projects that have come online — the Heritage Parr, the ventana Medical Systems building, Marana Main Street, the Uptown Marana project, Marana Mercantile, the school has purchased property to eventually build a high school and an performing arts center, so this allows the identity of northwest Marana to be somewhat defined by the Tangerine Road connection and gives that sense of place that we are looping for and discussed over many meetings. In general terms, these roadway alignment make the most sense for the projects that we've entitled and spent money on. Council Member Bowen asked what a change in functional classification would be. Mr. Maloney said that would be life going from an arterial to a collector road. And a diversion from an adopted road network would be to this way of thinking a diversion out of the northwest growth area which we are not doing. Keith Brann discussed five specific items from the roadway network including the Tangerine Interchange location, the Marana Interchange connectivity, the Tangerine Load right of way, the Marana Special Meeting 04/28/2015 Marana Main Street right of way and the environmentally sensitive arterial right of way ---- mostly in the Tortolita Fan. Most of what is being discussed tonight was discussed at the February study session. He then gave a general overview starting with the Tangerine Interchange and current General Plan which was proposed to shift a half mile north at the request of the developer at the time who had come to the town with a major development. They did go through the process of design plans but did not obtain the clearances. The expectation now is that ADOT will have to construct this interchange, and they will likely construct it in place. There are many developments trying to go forward in the area, and some of them have experienced difficulties with this alignment shift.. He discussed the Marana Interchange, noting that the town has always had a desire for the Tangerine Farms Road to be the primary connection to 1-10. however, a previous traffic study indicated operational challenges unless Marana Road was the primary connection. The traffic studies that predicted the need for this were based on the Sanders Grove development. A major study was done at the time, and it showed a massive amount of traffic and growth coming from the far west in Pima County in addition to the expected growth in northwest Marana. As a result it predicted major operational problems should Tangerine Farms be the primary roadway to the interchange. So the town pulled back its desire for Tangerine Farms to be the primary roadway and we went ahead with a Marana Road alignment which was memorialized by resolution. With changes in the PACT model and the recession changing growth projections, recent studies now show that Tangerine Farms Road as the primary connection will function within standard levels of service for multiple northwest Marana destinations. A key improvement of this alignment over previous ones is how it can benefit the Sandario Business District. He then went into additional detail. The next item is the Tangerine Road narrowing. originally, ADOT had it as a study route envisioned as a full 8-lane access, becoming part of a Tucson outer loop. The right of way was set at 350 feet to support a frontage road system.. The proposed amendment is where we are at today. The road is off the ADOT system, and the recommendation is to reduce Tangerine Road from 350 feet to a 250 foot right of way. This would still support a scenic roadway and any needed frontage road systems. A small frontage road is being considered near the Breakers Water Part{ to allow businesses in the area to come to one signal. Marana Main Street is currently on the books for a 90 foot right of way. Working with the developer of the project, the original center left turn lane would be removed, parallel parking would be forfeited for diagonal parking to accommodate more vehicles, and the 90 foot right of way would be shorted to 80 feet. This will be a slow moving pedestrian - friendly roadway. The last item relates to environmentally sensitive roads. Normally, the arterial roadway is 150 feet wide. By taking a foot out of each lane and the bike lanes, the narrower widths and medians to 11 o feetwould reduce the travel distance of wildlife. There are currently two roads that have been built to those specifications — Twin Peaks Road and Cortaro Road. Staff is asking Council for the flexibility to use that section of the General Plan when it's appropriate. So the plain changes are to 6. LA. of the proposed roadway map from the General Plan. Marana Special Meeting 04/28/2015 Mayor Honea called for speakers. Adam Trenk from Rose Law group spoke, representing the Marana Mercantile Project owned by Desert Troon and the Uptown at Marana Project by Cardon Development. He began by asking for a continuance of the item if Council is not inclined to deny the proposal. Mr. Trent{ began his presentation with reference to a procedural matter regarding their opinion that this is not a minor plan amendment, and that there are functional classification changes to the roadway snap. However, his main concern was a continuance so that there would be more opportunity for the stakeholders to weigh in on the matter. Specifically, his clients were unaware that this matter had been heard in a February study session and also worked its way through the planning commission process since the summer of 2013 when it was proposed. For his clients, the issue is access, and if the proposal goes through, the platter of access will be cut off and the viability of those projects will suffer and there may never be that commercial development that his clients have been planning on in concert with the town because the traffic wouldn't be there to sustain that. He then showed a diagram of the Uptown at Marana project approved in 2007. Traffic counts were projected at 20,000 vehicles per day, driving traffic directly into that commercial development. with the proposed realignments before you, the traffic patterns have been shifted entirely, and the traffic coming off the I -10 will be diverted down Tangerine Farms Road away from the developments. He put forth for the suggestion that in planning for speculative development in the downtown area, you would be depriving the viability of projects that the town has been planning for for over a decade. If the realignments are approved, specifically Walmart, which is going to be at the Marana Mercantile project, has indicated that they wouldn't be interested in moving forward with that because although they would continue to have visibility from the I -10, they wouldn't have the access they would need in order to make their project viable. Another consequence of approval is that there are development agreements in place for both of these projects which contemplates his clients helping to pay for that infrastructure. If the alignment changes are approved this evening, they will no longer be bound by those development agreements which puts the town in a bit of a bind. How are these improvements going to be funded? A. continuance of this item would allow his clients to work with the town to come up with a compromise that would allow them to help pay for the infrastructure. He reiterated his earlier remarks that his clients believe this is not a minor General flan amendment and again requested a continuance to allow the stakeholders to come to the table and discuss how the currently proposed alignment would affect future development in that area. His clients have committed tremendous resources to plan this future development, and there is no reason to change the current approved alignments. In closing, he asked Council to maintain what has historically been a business - friendly environment and a culture of transparency and allow his clients to come to the table and have some input on this proposal to avoid what could be detrimental to his clients and to the community to the extent their projects are no longer viable and thus the town would not be able to capitalize on the tremendous sales tax potential they could present. Sherese Steffens stated that from listening to the discussion, it doesn't sound life the proposed alignments are minor changes, and she had not heard about the changes until this evening. She travels Tangerine Road all the time, and it is bumper to bumper. So changing the amount of roadway is something that should be discussed with the public. She also didn't know about the Marana Special Meeting 04/28/2015 study session in February. She recommended doing a continuance, be transparent and let people like her understand all of these changes, and don't make a decision tonight. She would like to hear from the other businesses that are going to be affected by Sandario Road being bypassed; who owns the property that's going to be bought, and how much does it cost. Mitch Stallard spoke, representing Desert Heritage Partnership, Marana Towne Center, owner of 350 -400 acres within the area where Tangerine Farms Roads connects with Marana Road at the interchange. On behalf of his client, he supports and recommends moving forward with the amendments to the transportation element of the Marana General Plan, specifically the establishment of Tangerine Farms Road as the primary connector to Marana Road and the Marana Road interchange at I- 10. He indicated that he was aware that PAG and the RTA were changing modeling procedures for traffic projections, for traffic counts, and for future projections. Kent Crotts, a business owner on Sandario Road, believes this proposed realignment is good for the Sandario businesses and the best plan he's seen so far. He supports this wholly and hopes that Council will as well. His concern over continuing with the old alignment is that the Sandario businesses would get cut off. People who bring their money to Marana for a short amount of time should not be given first right of refusal on the whole thing. Sandario Load businesses have been collecting tax revenues for the town for many, many years. He's looking to make sure his business stays viable where it is or in very close proximity. He thanked the town for keeping Sandario businesses informed. when he first heard of the change, he approached several other businesses and basically everyone signed off supporting the town with the way the change is being proposed. OK Rihl, representing the Gladden Farms II, remaining residential and commercial parcels, addressed the Tangerine intersection location proposal to change the General Plan so that Tangerine Road stays on its existing alignment. His group concurs with that and moving away from the once - proposed interchange going 2500 feet going further north. Mr. Trenk noted that he handed the Clerk a letter from the representative of Walmart that he wanted to bring to Council's attention which he had referenced earlier. Mayor Honea closed the public hearing. Motion to approve as prevsented by staff by Council Me lber Conzerford, second by Council Member Bowen. The Town Clerk polled the Council. The rote was 6--1 in favor, with Council Member Ifai voting nay. Council Member Ziegler addressed Mr. Trenk on behalf of the Rose Law Group and stated that threats of lawsuits in letters tend to come off as a little disingenuous. His client won't suffer. The area in question is huge and is going to grow. It appears that no one is under contract, which is very similar to what Continental Ranch was when she moved there. She emphasized that she hoped his client would stay with the town. She believes Sanders Grove will be a good community that will grow and fit right in. She wants them to stay involved and notified. But she was disappointed with letters of lawsuits. But she believes the decision Council made tonight was the right one because they have stuck with their folks on Sandario who have been there for Marana Special Meeting 04/28/2015 years and years, and we are not going to put them out to dry. We are going to do what's right for the safety of our town and the vision of our town, and when Tangerine loop road was built several years ago, it was always with the idea that it would loop up. These aren't things we just thought of a few days ago. She concluded by thanking him for coming tonight and hoped he will stay with the Town of Marana, and make sure we give them every notice. A. 3 Resolution No. 2015-038 Relating to development; approving and authorizing the Mayor to execute the First Amendment to Continental Ranch Parcel 60 Development Agreement (Frank Cassidy). Mr. Cassidy noted that this amendment would require the town is to reimburse for public infrastructure for what is now the John Deere dealership. The Tiffany Loop water line has now been constructed. Under the original agreement it provided that we would reimburse for only publicly bid infrastructure. This was not publicly bid, and staff has estimated the value of the infrastructure and is comfortable at a $345K reimbursement, notwithstanding the failure to publicly bid. We are attempting to stay within the spirit of the agreement. Motion to approve by Council Member Kai, second by Tice Mayor Post. Passed unanimously. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSIONIPOSSIBLE ACTION D 1 Relating to Legislation and Government Actions; discussion and possible action regarding all pending state, federal, and local legislation /government actions and on recent and upcoming meetings of the other governmental bodies (Gilbert Davidson) EXECUTIVE SESSIONS Pursuant to A.R.S. § 38- 431.03, the Town Council may vote to go into executive session, which will not be open to the public, to discuss certain matters. E 1 Executive Session pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.03 ( Council may ask for discussion or consultation for legal advice with the Town Attorney concerning any matter listed on this agenda. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Notwithstanding the mayor's discretion regarding the items to be placed on the agenda, if three or more Council members request that an item be placed on the agenda, it must be placed on the agenda for the second regular Town Council meeting after the date of the request, pursuant to Marana Town Code Section 2M4 -2(B). ADJOURNMENT. Motion to adjourn at 7:03 p.m. by Council Member Bo jven, second by Vice .Mayor Post. Passed unanimously. Marana Special Meeting 04/28/2015 CERTIFICATION. I hereby certify that the foregoing are the true and correct minutes of the public session of the Special Council Meeting held on April 28, 2015. I further certify that a quorum was present. o elyn C. nson, Town Clerk N p, 9 MA 1 2 A N A Marana Special Meeting 04/28/2015